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Book ^J±: 

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A SKETCH 



OF THE 



DESTRUCTION 



OF THE 



f EIilY fiMEY 



AVHITE MOUNTAIN SLIDE, 

On the Night of August 28, 1826, 

RELATED 



The only survivor of the paity who discovered and rcnnoved 

the bodies of the unfortunate family from the 

ruins, on the 81st day of August, M<-H>. 



LANCASTER, N. 11.. 
J. S. PEAVEY, BOOK AND JOB PIIINTER. 

18 8 0. 



i#DO*- 



^0^ 



A SKETCH 



OF THE yj\ 

Us 



DESTRUCTION 



OF THE 



f IltlY filllil 



WHITE MOUNTAIN SLIDE, 

On the Night of August 28, 1826, 

RELATED 



Tho-only survivoi* of the party who discovered and removiMl 

the bodies of the unfortunate family from tlie 

ruins, on the .'Hst day of August, 18-2(i. 



LANCASTER, N. H. : 
J. S. PEAVEY, BOOK AND JOB PRINTER. 

18 8 0. 



A-r 



Nj. 



i 



i\' 



Destruction of the Willey Family, 

^^0B^^' 

IN the year 182 i I commenced upon a farm 
in the town of Bartlett, Carroll County, N. H. 
I bought 100 acres ol wild land, and only with 
good courage and a strong' arm, had, in 1826, 
partially cleared up my small farm from the prim- 
itive forest. I had got most of the material to- 
gether for building me a nice barn, the frame of 
which was already up. August 28, of the year 
above mentioned, it commenced to rain in the 
morning, and rained nearly all day, by showers, 
till night-fall — then the big shower commenced. 
1 began to have some fears by that time that we 
were not quite safe, as our house was near a 
^^rook that ran through a little meadow, and this 
rook had already grown to be a good sized 
'"ver. Accordingly I took my wife and four 
lildren and started for a neighbor's who lived 
Dout three-fourths of a mile away on the up- 
ands. The bridge on which we crossed the 
Drook in front of our house was partially afloat. 
Not more than a minute after we were well over, 
we heard the roar of the rumbling waters rush- 
ing from the mountain-side near by — sounding 
like heavy thunder. Down came the slide ob- 



structino- the river, raisino- the water over the 
path we had just trod, to more than ten feet 
deeo and overilovvino- the nttle meadow to tb^e 
extent of fifteen acres with ei'avel, rocks and 
uprooted trees from the mountains. This show- 
er or torrent, lasted four hours and then cleared 
off bright star-ho'ht, the rumbling- of the slides 
continuing most terrific for half an hour. 

We stopped at our neighbor's till morning, 
when I went back to find my little farm, entirely 
ruined, my barn-frame and all the materials for 
finishing it, swept away, my cow and seven or 
eight pigs saved only b)^ taking refuge on a 
mianure heap, the hens perched on the ridge of 
the house, the river running through the cellar. 

I loitered about pretty much all day, for I 

could not cross the river — (it was a river then) 

— and could not make up my mind vvhat to do. 

The next day some of my neighbors came, and 

we built a boat and ofot across the river, taking; 

i 
with us old Abel Crawford, wdio came later. Wq 

then went to Judge Hall's tavern in Bartietti 

There we met a man telling the Judge the stor^ 

of the great slide at the Willey House, he not! 

knowing at that time the full extent of the 

disaster. 

This man, whose name was Barker, stopped 

the previous night alone at the Willey House 

(for it was a tavern) — thinking the family were 

safe at their neiehbor's, Abel Crawford's. Bar- 



\ 



J)' 

ker liberated the animals in the stables and went 
down to Jiidg-e Hall's that night, where we met 
him. Tvvelve of us, Ebenezar Taskef, Jonathan 
and Joshua Rodgers, Satnuel Tuttle, Abram^ 
Allen, Samuel Stillings, Isaac Fall, Levi Par- 
ker, Mr. Eastm.an. Abel Crawford and myself 
started that night for the Notch. 

When. we got to the Saw)er river it was so 
deep the old gentleman Crawford was afraid to 
attemjDt to ford it. and I took him on my back 
and carried him over. 

We arrived at Crawiord's at eleven o'clock 
p. m., where we had supper We then went up 
through the Notch, six miles ; the bridges w^ere 
ail gone — and the roads, too, some of the way. 
We struggled forward till long past midnight, 
frequently wading through slough-holes, w-hen 
we arrived at the Wiliey House. 

As soon as it was light in the morning we 
commenced the search. As the family had not 
been heard from, we were satisfied they had 
been buried under the mountain slide, the 
course of which, presented an appalling spec- 
tacle. The track of the slide reached to within 
three feet of the house, and had carried away 
one corner of the barn. Across the course of 
the slide, the rocks, gravel and trees were piled 
and mixed in awful confusion for a great dis- 
tance. It seemed to have suddenly stopped, for 
the advanced part of the avalanche was more 



i 



4 
than perpendicular, the top projecting over that 
portion that rested on the ground — so much so 
as to form caves. ^ 

It had got to be well toward noon and in 
all this time we had seen nothing to indicate 
where the bodies ot the unfortunate family 
could be found. Seeing large numbers of flies 
about the entrance, I was led to search one of 
the caves above mentioned. I crawled in quite 
a number of feet, and discovered a man's hand 
jammed in between two logs. I came out and 
indicated to Thomas Hart and Stephen Willey 
where to dig. We soon came to the body of 
the man whose hand I had seen. It proved to 
be that of David Allen, a hired man of the Wil- 
leys. Directly behind the body of Allen was 
that of Mrs. Willey. Both were entirely de- 
nuded and terribly mangled, especially about 
their heads. The back part of Mrs. Willey 's 
head was entirely jammed ofl'. Large numbers 
of people were soon on the spot — but three of 
us did all the digging. As fast as we got the 
bodies out of the jam they were enshrouded in 
sheets, and buried where the new Hotel now 
stands, in which place they remained until the 
following December, when their bodies found a 
final resting place on the Willey farm in North 
Conway. Mr. Willey was found below the jam, 
— drowned in the brook, or possibly killed by 
the timbers of the demolished barn, under 



5 
which he was lound. The youngest boy was 
found a Httle in rear of his mother, and the old- 
est g-irl below her father, in the brook. A young- 
man about twenty years old, named David 
Nickerson, whom the Willeys had broucrht up, 
was also among the lost, his body being found 
the next day about a foot deeper in the rubbish, 
and some four feet from the others. The 
bodies of the three remaining children of the 
VVilley's were never found. 

The following are the names of the lost : 

Samuel Willey, Jr., aged 38 years. 

Polly L. Willey, '" 35 " 

Eliza Ann Willey, " 13 

Jeremiah L. Willey, "11 

Martha G. Willey,' " 9 " 

Sally Willey, •' 5 " 

Elbridge G. Willey, " 7 

David Nickerson, "21 

David Allen, " 37 

The first three and last three were found, 
but the other three are whc^re the avalanche 
over took them that fatal hour. 

It may be asked why the family left their 
house, since the house was not injured. On 
the 25th of June, preceding, there had been a 
slide not far from the Willey House. It had 
been raining all day, and at five o'clock p. m., 
the slide commenced and the trees stood 
straight until the slide had gone some eight 



6 

rods before tJiey fell over ; this slide came down 
within two or three rods of the barn. Nicholas 
Tuttle, now of Jefferson, was an eye witness of 
this slide, having gone to Willey's that day to 
repair boots for the men at work for Willey up- 
on the road through the Notch. This slide fill- 
ed the road for forty or fifty rods ; this had so 
alarmed the family that they built a camp (as it 
was called,) farther down the intervale, in which 
they intended to take refuge in case the moun- 
tain should again threaten them, and it is sup- 
posed the family were overwhelmed in their at- 
tempt to reach this shelter. As the Willey 
House stood directly in the line of the ava- 
lanche, it would have been swept away but for a 
rock near the corner of the house, well sunken 
in the ground, which proved to be a barrier that 
turned the current by first arresting a large 
spruce tree and then what was immediately be- 
hind, till the mass was piled up as high as the 
house, and so near I could easily step from' the 
rubbish to the top of the building. Thus the 
house was saved and the camp they failed to 
reach was swept away. 

These terrific scenes which I have attempt- 
ed to narrate made a deep impression on my 
memory, and to-day, at 83 years of age, they 
seem as vivid as on the fated day of their oc- 
currence. 



7 

The tore^oiiiL;' liastily written sketch, so 
gladly received by the thousands of visitors to 
the scene of the terrible disaster, has led others 
to undertake a description of the Willey Slide, 
and their sketches, printed in the public jour- 
nals, being based principally upon accounts 
given by persons not present, but only related 
from hearsay testimony, contains many errors. 
That those error may be corrected, and a true 
account given, by the only surviving member of 
the little party of twelve who, on the night of 
Aug. 30, arrived upon the spot, to view the work 
of the terrible storm, has induced me to give 
some further incidents connected with the sad 
disaster. The narrator in the sketch of C. L. 
Morrison, being then only seventeen years old, 
was not present and did not visit the scene ; — 
and her account, though correct in many partic- 
ulars, contains many errors. J. H. Hall, who 
afterwards became the husband of the narrator, 
was three years younger than his wife, being 
born in August, 181 2, and, at the time of the 
slide, was fourteen years of age. He did not 
accompany the searching party, and was not 
present at th(^ time the bodies were recovered. 
It appears that her information was obtained 
from this lad, and it could not be expected to 
be as^ correct as from an eye witness. 

On the third page I give the names of the 
twelve who composed the searching party. 



8 

Neither Lieut. Stanton or his dog were present. 
I have already stated that I first discovered the 
situation of the bodies — the gathering of flies 
led to the discovery, but no dog was present 
to show his superior wisdom. It may be rough 
on the dog to spoil this beautiful story, yet it is 
of more importance that history should record 
facts as they actually existed, and not as fancy 
would paint them. 

Mr. Allen's right hand was extended 
toward Mrs. Willey and about two feet from her 
left hand, and it appeared as though they had 
joined hands in his attempt to save her, but 
when found were not joined. Both were lying 
upon their faces. Mr. Allen's left hand w^as fast 
between two logs — it being dark in the place, 
nothing could be seen, but by reaching in to 
discover if I could, what attracted the flies, I 
took hold of a hand and examined each finger 
and thumb to satisfy myself that it was a man's 
hand, and it proved to be Mr. Allen's. 

Mr. Allen and Mrs. Willey being the first 
bodies recovered were nude. While we were dig- 
ging out these bodies, others discovered Mr. 
Willey's body down the brook four or five rods 
from where we were digging — he was clothed 
with the exception of one coat sleeve, which 
was torn entirely off. Mr. Willey was fast un- 
der a timber torn from the barn. I had crossed 
the brook several times on the timber, but did not 



discover Mr. Willey, and he was not found un- 
il tl'.: water had lowered in the brook, and one 
:nee was seen above the water. These three 
,vere found on Thursday, the first day of our 
search, and not Friday as Mrs. Hall states. 

My three boys, William aged 8 years, Ed- 
vard aged 6 years, and Lee aged 3 years, were 
.iLcnding school on the opposite side of the 
Ycico river, about one and one-half miles from 
lome, at the time of the alide. On their way 
liome they had to cross what was called the 
Stanton Bridge, made of round logs, about one- 
lalf mile from Raser brook, over which the 
settler's road passed ; when the children arriv- 
al, the v;ater was over the bridge. The oldest 
3oy was afraid to cross, but the second boy ran 
across the bridge, and immediately returned 
ind taking the youngest in his arms immedi- 
ately re-crossed, and William followed. Just as 
they were all safe over, the bridge went off in 
the flood. Had they delayed lor one moment 
they must all have been lost, as the bridge was 
swept away and there would have been no re- 
treats They arrived home about sunset. 



P 



lO 

I have endeavored to give a true account 
of this terrible disaster, and in closing my little 
book I give th'e following account of the flood 
as given by Mrs. Coffin now living in Lancas- 
ter : 

On the'28th of August, 1826, (I think,) it 
rained very gently most of the day, with no sign 
of any rise of the waters around us. My father's 
name was Ebenezer Stillings I then had a step- 
mother, and the family consisted of seven per- 
sons — my father, step-mother, four children, 
and a Mrs. Grey, wife of a son of my step- 
mother. My brothers' names were Leander and 
Ira ; my sister's name was Cordelia. 

We lived in what was then called 
Hart's Location, between Sawyer River and 
Stoney Brook. In front ran the Saco river ; 
back of us was a small brook which was never 
dry. In time of high water the Saco river over- 
flowed, running into the brook on one side of 
the house and returning to the Saco on the 
other side, leaving the house on an island. 

At this time my father had a yoke of oxen, 
two cows and some young stock. This stock 
was on the upland beyond* the brook, and so 
were safe. He had also, a good flock of sheep, 
four swine and a flock of geese, all of which 
were near theliouse on the island. 

At sundown there seemed only a possibil- 



1 1 



ity of the water rising. We had a number of yards 
of cloth on the ground bleaching; Mrs. ^ Grey 
and 1 went out to move it on to higher ground, 
farther from the brook. After spreading it in 
the orchard we left the large empty tub close 
by. 

After dark the storm increased and about 
nine o'clock the sheep came around the house 
for shelter. I went out to hold the lantern in- 
side the barn while father went to drive the 
sheep in. The rain was now falling in torrents 
and poured from the roof in such a sheet that 
he could not see the light, although I stood as 
near as possible. ^ ^ ^ 

Mrs. Grey was anxious about the cloth, and 
father and I went out to brinof it in. We found 
the wash-tub two-thirds full of water that it had 
caught during the storm. On returning to the 
house we found the water was rushine into the 
cellar, arid in a moment it rose above the floor. 
We went up stairs, and father followed us after 
he had put fire into the oven to save it. In a 
few minutes the house began to rock like a 
cradle — so that we were obliged to hold the 
candle. This commotion lasted about two and 
one-half hours, when it suddenly ceased. We 
could do nothing but wait and wonder. This 
must have been about half-past eleven. At 
about one o'clock in the morning the rain 
ceased, and soon the water began to lower in 



the house. After day-hght, when the water had 
settled out of the house, we went down stairs 
and found the mud had washed in at least 
six inches deep, with indications that the water 
had been up to the windows. 

It was sunrise before we could get out of 
the house, and father, after looking around, 
came in to tell us what he thought had saved 
our lives. The small stones had been washed 
away from the underpinning and under one 
corner was a large rock, about six inches below 
the corner- post, a small birch tree that had been 
washed out above, was found so wedged under 
the sill as to suddenly stop the rocking. One 
of the shotes was found braced against a stump, 
half covered with water, but alive ; two were 
lost and never found. The sheep were all safe 
but had been nearly submerged in water. The 
geese were found about two miles below. Under 
one end of the barn the earth was washed away 
so that at about eleven o'clock a. m. the build- 
ing fell and most of the hay was lost. We lost 
our crops of potatoes, corn and beans, but the 
wheat and oats were in the barn and were 
removed and saved. 

Nicholas Tutde, my sister's husband, was 
the first to arrive. He felled a tree across Saw- 
yer river and crossed on that. The next person 
who came was a man who had spent Tuesday 
night (the night following the rain) at the Wil- 



13 
ley House. He came Wednesday, and said he 
could find none of the family, and thought they 
must all be dead. 



The following extracts from Mrs. Ethan A. 
Crawford's book, published many years ago, 
entitled "Guide and Historical Relics of the 
White Mountains," will be found full of interest. 
That book having long been out of print, I take 
the liberty of presenting some of the important 
facts oiven in that most excellent work : 

The name of E. A. Crawford is deeply 
chiseled upon the rocks of this gigantic Mount 
built by nature (Mt. Washington) ; and the lady 
who shared in life his joys and sorrows has, in 
her White Mountain History, reared a testimon- 
ial to his memory. Will not my humble tribute 
of a stone, laid in silence upon his grave, be 
accepted by all who pleasantly cherish the re- 
membrance of "Ethan of the Hills," or the 
"White Mountain Giant" ? 

The subject of this sketch was born in 
Guildhall, Vt., in the year 1792. When but a 
mere lad his parents moved to the White Moun- 
tains, and here he grew up a giant mountaineer, 
illustrating by his hardy habits, how daring 
enterprise and pure mountain climate nerve the 
man and stamp the Jiero upon mortality. Inher- 
iting the house on the westerly endot the"Giant's 
Grave," with an encumbrance that made him 



H 
worse than destitute of all worldly goods, he 
was one day shocked, when returning from hunt- 
ing on the hills, to see his home burned down, 
and his wife and infant sheltered only by an 
open shed. Twelve miles one way, and six the 
other, to neighbors, here he was with his little 
family in the wilderness, destitute of every com- 
fort, save that of hope. The sunshine of joy, 
unclouded by sorrow, and the warm smiles of 
good fortune seem ever attendant upon the 
lives of some, constantly beckoning their favor- 
ites forward to the green fields of abundance, 
and bowers of pleasure and ease. Others, per- 
chance born under a less favoring star, in their 
growth rise up like giants, breasting manfully, 
step by step, the wrecking storms of adversity, 
and by their own heroic exertions, hew out for 
themselves characters deeply lined, amid the 
black shadows of sorrow and disappointment. 
Of such a mould was the spirit of Ethan A. 
Crawford. The inconveniences of poverty, that 
come like a strong man armed, upon poor mor- 
tality, and sickness and the many hardships 
linked with everyday life in a new settlement, 
fell to this man's share. Yet he cheerfully per- 
formed the duties of life with an iron resolution 
that stood misfortune's shocks as firmly as his 
own mountains stand storms and the changes of 
time. He was a tall, finely-proportioned man'; 
and, though called by many the "White Moun- 



• 15 
tain Giant," beneath the rough exterior of the 
hardy mountaineer glowed constantly in a heroic 
heart, the warm fire of love and manly virtue. 
The artless prattle of his little children was 
sweet music to his spirit, and his ambitious 
aspirations were constantly invigorated by social 
comfort with his little family. 

The first display of Ethan's giant strength 
recorded is of his carrying on his head, across 
the Ammonoosuc river, a potash-kettle weigh- 
ing four hundred pounds. 

In 182 I he caught a full-grown deer, in a 
wild gorge, four miles from home ; and as the 
trap had not broken his leg, and he appeared 
quite gentle, he thought to lead him home. 
Failing in his attempt to do this, he shouldered 
him and trudged homeward over hill and through 
tangled brushwood, feeling by the way, per- 
chance, like Crusoe with his lamas, how fine it 
would be to have a park and many deer to show 
his visitors. But his day-visions vanished ; for 
on arriving at home, he found the deer so much 
'injured that he died. 

At another time he caught a wild moun- 
tain-buck in a snare ; and, finding him too heavy 
to shoulder, he made him a halter of withes, and 
succeeded in halter-leading him so completely, 
that, after nearly a day spent in the attempt, he 
arrived home with his prize, much to the won- 
der of all. 



i6 

In 1829 Ethan caught a good-sized bear In 
a trap ; and thought to bind him and 
lead him home as he had the buck. In at- 
tempting to do this, the bear would catch with 
his paws at the trees; and our hero, not willing 
to be outwitted by a bear, managed to get him 
on his shoulder, with one hand firmly hold of his 
nose, carried him two miles homeward. The 
bear, not well satisfied with his prospects, en- 
tered into a serious engagement with his captor, 
and by scratching and biting succeeded in tear- 
ing off his vest and one pantaloon-leg, so that 
Ethan laid him down so hard upon the rocks 
that he died. That fall he caught ten bears in 
that same wild glen. 

The first bear kept at the White Mountains 
for a show was caught by Ethan, while return- 
ing from the Mountain with two young gentle- 
men he had been up with as guide. Seeing a 
small bear cross their path, they followed him 
to a tree which he climbed. Ethan climbed 
after and succeeding in getting him, tied his 
mouth up with a hankerchief, and backed him. 
home. This bear he provided with a trough of 
water, astrap and pole ; and here he was for 
a long time kept, as the first tame bear of the 
mountains. This was about the year 1829. 

Ethan caught a wild cat with a birch withe, 
once, when passing down the Notch ; he was 
attracted to a tree by the barking of his dog, 



17 
where, up among the thick branches, he disco-v- 
ered a full-grown wildcat. Having only a 
hatchet with him, he cut two long birch withes, 
and twisting them well together, made a slip- 
noose which he run up through the thick leaves 
and while the cat was watching the dog, he 
managed to oret this noose over his head, and 
with a sudden jerk, brought him to the ground. 
His dog instantly seized him, but was willing to 
beat a retreat till reinforced by his master, who 
with a heavy chib came to the rescue. The 
skin of this cat when stretched, measured over 
six feet. 

Ethan's two close shots are worthy of note. 
One fall while setting a sable line, about two 
miles back of the Notch, he discovered a little 
lake, set like a diamond in a rough frame-work 
of beetling crags. The fresh signs of moose 
lear, and trout seen in its shinino- waters, was 
sufficient in (hi cement to spend a night by its 
shady shore. About sunset, while engaged in 
catching a string of trout, his attention was 
suddenly arrested by a loud splashing in the 
still water around a rocky point, where, on look- 
ing, he saw two large brown moose pulling up 
lilly roots, and fighting the flies. Prepared with 
an extra charge, he fired, and before the first 
report died in echoes among the peaks, the 
second followed, and both moose fell dead in 
the lake. Ethan labored hard to drag his game 



ashore ; but late that evening bright visions of 
marrow-bones and broiled trouts flitted like re- 
alities around him. That night a doleful dirge 
rose in that wild gorge ; but our hero slept 
soundly, between two warm moose-skins. He 
cared not for the wild wolves that sen ted the 
taint of the fresh blood in the wind. That lit- 
tle mountain sheet is now, from the above cir- 
cumstance, known as "Ethan's Pond." 

Ethan was always proud to speak of how 
he carried a lady two miles down the mountain 
on his shoulders. It was no uncommon affair 
for him to shoulder a man and lug him down 
the mountain ; but his more delicate attempts 
to pack a young lady down the steep rocks, he 
seemed to regard as an important incident in 
his adventurous career. Miss E. Woodward 
was the name of the lady who received such 
marked attention from the Mountain Giant. By 
a wrong step she became very lame, and place- 
ing, as well as he could, a cushion of coats up- 
on his right shoulder, the lady became well seat- 
ed, and he thus brought her down to where 
they left their horses. 

By Adino N. Brackett's Journal, published in 
Moore's His. Col., vol. ist, page 97, it appears 
that Adino N. Brackett, John W. Weeks, Gen. 
John Willson, Chas. J. Stuart, Esq., Noyes S. 
Dennison and Samuel A. Pearson, Esq., from 
Lancaster, N. H., with Philip Carrigan and E. 



A. Crawford, went up July 31, 1820, to name 
the different summits. ^ ^ -^ "They 

made Ethan their pilot, and loaded him with 
provisions and blankets, like a pack-horse ; and 
then as they began to ascend they piled on top 
of his load their coats." This party had a fine 
time and after giving the names of our sages 
to the different peaks according to their altitude 
they drank health to these hoary cliffs, in honor 
to the illustrious men whose names they were 
from this date, to bear ; then curled down 
among the rocks without fire, on the highest 
crag, they doubtless spent the first night mor- 
tals ever spent on that elevated place. In the 
morning after seeing the sun rise out of the 
ocean far, lar below them, they decended west- 
erly from the apex about a mile and came to a 
beautiful sheet of water (Lake of the Clouds), 
near a ridge of rocks which, when they left, 
they named "Blue Pond." It doubtless looked 
blue to them, for something they carried in bot- 
tles so weakened the limbs of one of the party 
that Ethan, was from this place burdened with a 
back-load of mortality, weighing two hundred 
pounds, down the Amonoosuc valley. Thus we 
find Ethan most emphatically the "Giant of the 
Mountains " He never hesitated to encounter 
any danger that appeared in his path, whether 
from wild beasts, flood, or mountain tempest. 
The first bridle-path on the White Moun- 



20 

tains was made in 1 8 19. As there had got to 
be about ten or twelve visitors a year to see the 
mountains, at this date, Ethan thought to ac- 
commodate his company, he would cut a path 
as far as the region of scrub vegetation extend- 
ed. It had been very difficult to go without a 
road, clambering over trees, up steep ledges, 
through the streams and over the hedgy scrub- 
growth, and accordingly when the fact of a path 
being made was published, the fame of this 
region spread like wild-fire. This path was 
started at the head of the notch near Gibbs' 
House and extending to the top of Mount 
Clinton, reached from thence to the top of Mt. 
Washington, nearly where Gibbs' path now is. 
Soon after the completion of this path, the ne- 
cessity of a cabin where visitors could stop 
dirough the night, was perceivable by Ethan ; 
and accordingly he built a stone cabin near the 
top of Mount Washington, by a spring of water 
that lives there, and spread in it an abundance 
soft moss for beds, that those who wished to 
stop there through the night to see the sun set 
and rise, might be accommodated. This rude 
home for the traveller was soon improved and 
furnished with a small stove, an iron chest and 
a. long roll of sheet- lead — the chest was to se- 
cure from the bears and hedge-hogs the camp- 
ing-blankets, and according to tradition, around 
that old chest many who have hungered have 



enjoyed a hearty repast. That roll of lead was 
for visitors to enerave their names on with a 
sharp iron. Alas ! that tale-telling sheet has 
been moulded into bullets and that old chest 
was buried by an avalanche. How all things 
pass away ! 

In 182 1 the first ladies visited Mount 
Washington. This party of which these ladies 
numbered three, had Ethan for a guide and pro- 
ceeding to the stone cabin, waited there through 
a storm for several days, that they might be the 
first females to accomplish the unrecorded feat 
of ascending Mount Washington. This heroic 
little party was the Misses Austin, of Ports- 
mouth, N. H., being accompanied by their bro- 
ther and an Esq. Stuart of Lancaster. Every- 
thing was managed as much for their comfort 
as possible ; the little cabin was provided with an 
outside addition, in which the gentlemen staid, 
that their companions might be more retired 
and comfortable. This party came near being 
what the sailors call "weather-bound." They 
1 were obliged to send back for more provisions ; 
and at last the severe mountain-storm passed 
away and that for which they had ambitiously 
endured so much exposure was granted them. 
They went to the top, had a fine prospect, and, 
after an absence of five days, returned from the 
mountains, in fine spirits, highly gratified with 
their adventure. This heroic act should confer 



22 



an honor upon the names of this pioneer party, 
as everything was managed with so much pru- 
dence and modesty that there was not left even 
a shadow for reproach, save by those who felt 
themselves outdone ; so says record. 

In the summer of 1840 the first horse that 
ever climbed the rocks of Mount Washingrton 
was rode up by old Abel Crawford. The old 
man was then seventy-five years old, and though 
his head was whitened by the snows of many 
winters, his blood was stirred, on that occasion, 
by the ambitious animation of more youthful 
days. There he sat proudly upon his noble 
horse, with uncovered head, and the wind played 
lightly with his venerable white locks. Truly 
that was a picture worthy of an artist's skill. 
Holding that horse by the rein, there stood his 
son Ethan, as guide to his old father. The son 
and the parent! — worthy representatives of the 
mighty monument, to the remembrance of which, 
the pioneer exertions have added fadeless fame. 
From that day a new era dawned on these 
mountains. Forget not the'^veteran Abel, and 
Ethan ''the White MountaAt Giants 

By record it appears that this remarkable 
defile was known to the aborigines, but it was 
never used by them as a crossing-place for their 
captives, or as a war-path, till white explorers 
in part wiped from their moral vision the dark 
superstition that such approach to Agiochook 



would be deemed l^y the Great Spirit pardonless 
sacrilege. For many years after it was known 
to the first hunters this Notch became forgotten 
or neglected, till the year 1771, when it was re- 
discovered by two hunters, Nash and Sazvyer. 
They drove a moose up a wild mountain stream, 
surrounded by towering crags ; and, with a be- 
lief that it was a deep gorge, surrounded behind 
by mountains, they followed, animated by the 
thought of making an easy conquest of their 
intended victim. Imagine their disappointment 
when they found their purpose thwarted by 
tracing the foot-prints of the moose along an 
ancient Indian trail, over high precipices, to a 
little meadow quite on tlie other side of the 
mountain ! These hunters published this inter- 
esting discovery, and were rewarded by the 
tract of land, northerly from the Notch, known 
as "Nash and Sawyer's Location." 

The first settler through the Notch was 
Col. Whipple, ' from Portsmouth, N. H. He 
came up in the year 1772, and he was at the 
time enabled to get his cattle up through the 
Notch by the means of teacles and ropes, as the 
hunter's path was over several precipices, now 
shunned by the travelled way. All the way 
through the northern wilderness of Laconia 
(now N. H.), with the needful means of civili- 
zation with him. he came^ scaled the crags that 
hang around that mighty rent through mount- 



24 

ains, and by his enterprise earned the honor of 
being the first white man who made a perma- 
nent settlement in the township of Dartmouth 
(now Jefferson.) 

The first female through the Notch was 
one who in her old age w^as known as "Granny 
Stalbird." She came up with Col. Whipple in 
1776, as his servant-girl. Afterwards she 
married, became a widow ; since which, learn- 
ing of the Indians the virtue of roots and herbs, 
she became a noted doctress, and was famous 
in all this new country for her skill. After en- 
joying life for nearly a full century, she died, 
leaving her name in the memory of many 
pleasantly cherished ; and the history of a vast 
rock, that long ago tumbled down from the 
mountains, bears the name "Granny Stalbird's 
Rock." One time, while passing on her pro- 
fessional duties through the Notch, she was 
overtaken by a terrible storm ; and darkness 
coming on, with torrents of water from the 
clouds, that swelled to a fearful height the wild 
mountain streams, she sought shelter under 
this rock, and laid there through a sleepless 
night, with the doleful music of water, wind and 
wolves about her. The habits of this useful 
old doctress were quite masculine. On foot or 
astride of an old horse, she might commonly be 
seen in the road, hastening from house to house 
on her errands of mercy. Bad travelling and " 



25 

severe storms, were never Insurmountable bar- 
riers In her path of usefuhiess. To do good to 
the sick was her \i(g ; and her God sustained 
her for long years as a worthy ministering spirit 
to the afflicted. She needs no monument to 
her memory more lasting than that which lives 
In her deeds. 

The Wllley House Is the oldest building- 
erected In the Notch. This was built In the 
year 1793, by a Mr. Davis, to accommodate the 
unfortunate storm-bound traveller, who, from 
curiosity, or on business, might dare the dan- 
gers of this will pass. Then a little grassy 

meadow stretched alone the bank of the Saco ; 

«_> 

tall rock-maples, and a towering mountain bar- 
rier, rose In the background from this little 
home of the pilgrim. How like a cool shadow 
of a great rock was this retreat amcng the 
frowning crags! But the thundering avalanche 
came, and, since August 28th, 1826, the spirit 
of desolation has brooded over that fated spot. 
How lonely there is the dirge of the high wind, 
as It sweeps down that solitary chasm ; and the 
wail of the sunset breeze, with the loud requiem 
of the on-rushing hurricane, is most mournful, 
for human bones are there palled In an ava- 
lanche's ruins ! 



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